Anyone who uses staples in the course of their business often has reason to remove staples as well. This is especially true for people working in certain professions. Teachers, for example, often staple displays or papers around their classrooms. When the teachers need to change the displays or remove the papers, the staples must be removed. Because the staples are spread over vertical surfaces and sometimes high overhead on the wall or ceiling, it is particularly difficult to remove them. Similarly, people in construction may use staples to secure items. Numerous staples may be used around the perimeter of a room, which eventually will need to be removed if remodeling. Removing a large quantity of staples is often tedious using conventional staple-removing technology.
Typical methods of removing staples include using a simple flat push-type remover that is slid under the staple and lifted or a claw-type remover that is slid under the staple to grab it. Both of these methods require a person to carefully position the staple remover and exert a substantial amount of force. Additionally, the user must take care to collect the removed staples and dispose of them individually. While these may be easy for the occasional staple removal from a document, these conventional removers become tedious when removing several staples or when removing staples from a vertical surface such as a bulletin board or wall.
Automated methods of removing staples have been developed, but none are particularly suited for removing staples from large immovable vertical surfaces such as walls or for removing substantial quantities of staples in a short amount of time. For example, automated versions of the claw-type remover still require the user to carefully position the claws around each staple. Additionally, each removed staple must still be disposed of individually. It would be desirable to have an automated staple remover that requires less effort to operate, is simple to position near a staple, and collects staples in a receptacle for later disposal. It would also be desirable to combine a staple remover and stapler in one unit.